the GNU GPL, and dual-licensing
(Half off-topic--this is referring to a Windows program, but the
question is probably of interest to people here anyway.)
On Wed, May 15, 2002 at 12:23:38PM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:
> Actually, that's not the case. CUPS *is* licensed under the GNU GPL, as
> far as anyone can tell. Easy Software Products has also elected to
> extend additional *permissions*, which a copyright holder is permitted
> to do, that do not exist in the GNU GPL license text.
>
> The GNU GPL permits modification and redistribution under any terms less
> restrictive than its own, and forbids the addition of terms *more*
> restrictive than its own:
>
> 6. Each time you redistribute the Program (or any work based on
> the Program), the recipient automatically receives a license
> from the original licensor to copy, distribute or modify the
> Program subject to these terms and conditions. You may not
> impose any further restrictions on the recipients' exercise of
> the rights granted herein. You are not responsible for enforcing
> compliance by third parties to this License.
>
> Review the text of the GNU GPL and note the many times it makes
> reference to "this License". The GNU GPL is a self-contained license
> document. A copyright holder is well within his rights to distribute a
> work under the terms of the GNU GPL and an arbitrary number of
> alternative terms, but those alternative terms cannot restrict the
> licensing of the work under the GPL, or the application of the GPL is
> void.
>
> In short, *any* addition or subtraction to the license terms of the GPL
> made by an author is an act of "dual-licensing". A copyright holder
> can, of course, cease distributing a work under the terms of the GNU GPL
> if that is incompatible with a larger licensing strategy.
Does this apply to the software at
http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jfc.html
where the author puts the software under the GPL, and then (separately)
says:
"Whenever a specific copyright notice conflicts with the GNU General
Public License, the specific copyright provision(s) will take precedence
over the GNU General Public License.
No part(s) of JFC may be included in any commercial product, nor may any
commercial product include portion(s) derived from part(s) of JFC,
without the explicit permission of the respective copyright holder(s)."
(This program has a larger problem: many source files start with the text
// JFC Copyright (C) Glenn Rosenthal, 1999,2000,2001. //
// All rights reserved. //
which is contradictory, but that's a different issue.)
--
Glenn Maynard
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